Jeremiah 31:3 (DRB)

Passage

The Lord hath appeared from afar to me. Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:1 At that time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 31:2 Thus saith the Lord: The people that were left and escaped from the sword, found grace in the desert: Israel shall go to his rest.

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord hath appeared from afar to me. Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.

Jeremiah 31:4 And I will build thee again, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy timbrels, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Jeremiah 31:5 Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and they shall not gather the vintage before the time.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "hath", "appeared", "afar", "loved", "thee", and "everlasting". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Thus saith the Lord The people that..." into verse 4's "And I will build thee again and...", so "lord" and "hath" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lord" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.